


Trophies

by musingsofamadman



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24426871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musingsofamadman/pseuds/musingsofamadman
Kudos: 1





	Trophies

She couldn’t help it. She liked the way they struggled, the way their warm blood felt on her hands, the way that life left their eyes. It felt good to watch them die, and to know that it was her fault that they were gone. That she had that power, that control, to choose if something else got to live or die. She knew it was wrong; she made sure that no one else knew about her little secret. 

The animals got bigger and bigger, and she got better and better at coming up with excuses. The woods were her favorite place. There were so many of them out there, a place to hide them, and a place to clean up afterwards. She hated when the blood got dry enough to get sticky, and so she always made sure to be near the stream when she killed them. 

The more she killed, the harder it was to find places to hide the bodies. She wondered if her parents would believe her if she said she’d found them already dead, but she knew they wouldn’t. There were too many cuts for that. She’d tried to do it quickly, so that they wouldn’t make any noise, and so it’d be easier to say that she’d found them like that. But there wasn’t any fun in that. She liked when they tried to get away, when they died slowly. She’d learned how to muffle their cries. 

She’d always been really careful about where she killed, and when, but for some reason....that day she hadn’t. She’d let herself get distracted, and now it was dark out, and she wasn’t sure if she could make it home. Worse than that- she hadn’t had time to hide the body before it’d gotten dark, and now she was left with the carcass of a deer. It’d be hard to explain why the deer was missing a leg, both its eyes, and an antler. (The antler was a trophy; she liked taking something from each body and keeping it under her floor boards.) And why she had a knife and a shovel. 

She couldn’t exactly walk away from the river; she might not be able to find her way back. The water next to the river was too soft; it made the body decompose quicker, and sometimes people came to fish here on the nicer days. They’d find it for sure if she buried it right here. 

Footsteps behind her made her tense up. She held the knife up, out of habit. “Hello?” She peered into the darkness. 

“Hello?” A small voice. A child. What was a child doing out here so late at night? She was young herself, but this child sounded much younger. “Can you help me? I’ve lost my parents.” The footsteps were much closer, and then she could see him. 

He was at the most 5, with messy hair and wide eyes. It was clear he’d been out here by himself for at least a few hours; he was caked in mud. “Come here. Let’s wash you off.” He seemed a little nervous. 

“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.” He said it shyly, like he was worried she’d be mad about it. 

“I’m Abigail. What’s your name?” She smiled at him. 

“Samuel.” He beamed back at her, much more at ease. 

“We’re not strangers anymore! Let me help you.” He nodded like it made sense to him, and then got closer. She splashed him, getting some of the mud off. He laughed, and a strange urge came over her. She could kill him. She was alone, and if he’d already been lost for a few hours, it was likely that his parents either hadn’t noticed that he was gone, or didn’t care. Maybe she could get away with it. 

She’d never hurt someone before, but she was sure it wouldn’t be hard. He was a lot smaller than she was, and if she just grabbed him and held him in the water, it’d look like he drowned.   
It would be quick. But she wanted to draw blood, and she knew that just drowning him wouldn’t give her the rush that she wanted. Maybe she could get him to sleep, and then kill him and hide him in the morning. She was suddenly grateful that it was dark; he wouldn’t have come close to her if he’d seen the deer. 

“Why don’t we sleep for now, and I can help you find your parents in the morning? I know how to get back into town from here.” He was already tired, so he just agreed, laying down on the soft bank of the river. Only a few feet from the body. She’d have to find a way to hide it before morning, so Samuel wouldn’t see it. She felt her way along carefully, walking in one direction and poking her shoe into the ground with every step. She’d bury the deer as soon as the ground was hard, and then just turn around and go right back. 

She couldn’t stop thinking about what it’d be like to kill her first human. Would he cry? Would he call out for someone? Would he bleed more? She could barely sleep once she found her way back to Samuel. 

Morning seemed to come quickly- or maybe, she was just excited. She led Samuel the wrong way, deeper into the forest. He was so trusting. She felt powerful just leading him astray. They walked for hours. Samuel kept asking when they’d be there, and wouldn’t stop talking about some dumb show that he liked. The longer they walked, the more she wanted to kill him. 

Finally, she figured they were far enough from where the townspeople fished that they wouldn’t hear him scream. She turned him away from the river, to more solid ground. 

“We’re almost there.” She pulled out her knife, letting him walk a little ahead of her so he wouldn’t see it right away. Oh, the thrill of knowing he was helpless. Of knowing that she had the power to silence him forever. She ran at him, knocking him onto the ground and pinning him underneath her weight. He started crying and trying to get up. 

“You’re hurting me!!” Where should she stab him first? If she wasn’t careful, this would be over quickly. 

“That’s kind of the point.” She stabbed him in the lower back. He screamed. She slammed his head into the ground, pushing his head down until his screaming was barely audible. He was louder than any of the animals she’d killed before. She let go of his head, stabbing him again. He sobbed, crying out for his mother. She stabbed him again. He did bleed more than the animals had. Again. He thrashed harder, too. Again. Again. Again. His voice began to sound raw from the screaming. He was lasting longer than any of the animals had. She sliced open his back, cutting until she saw bone. 

She wanted one of his bones as her reminder of this one. It was worth the walk home. 

When she got home, her parents were waiting for her. It scared her. Had she been found out somehow? They didn’t look angry; if anything, they looked….excited? That worried her more. 

“Did you like it?” Her mother grinned at her. What did she mean? 

“What do you mean?” 

“Killing your first human.” Her blood ran cold. How did they know? And why were they so calm? 

“What are you talking about?” Her father frowned at her, and her mother looked disappointed. 

“Why have you been hiding this from us?” She teared up. Were they going to disown her now that they knew? 

“It’s not what it looks like-” 

“We’re not mad.” Her father seemed amused. “We’re just sad you didn’t tell us sooner. We wanted to help you figure things out. That’s why we sent you that little boy. “ She was confused. 

“You sent him to me?” That didn’t make sense. Her parents were perfectly normal. They wouldn’t do something like that. 

“Yes, of course we did. We remember what it was like, that first time. “ Her father looked at her mother, and they shared a look. “It gets better every time.” 

“You guys have killed…?” The prospect was alarming. 

“Of course. How do you think we always have meat, despite living out here in the middle of the woods?” She’d never thought about it like that. 

“Does it really get better every time?” She’d never stop killing if it was always that good. 

“Yes.”


End file.
